James Beard Awards 2020: ICC Alumni & Dean Semifinalists Announced

28 Semifinalist Nominations Go To Members Of the ICC Community

The culinary awards season is just heating up, and each year it brings us such joy to see International Culinary Center alumni and Deans recognized for the excellence they bring to our industry. With the recent announcement of the 2020 semifinalists for the James Beard Awards, we’d like to congratulate the following ICC alumni [and Deans!] on their nominations. We’re thrilled to announce that this year, 24 ICC alumni and 2 ICC Deans have received a staggering 28 semifinalist nominations for the 2020 Awards and they’re just getting started. The James Beard Foundation Book & Media Awards are expected to be announced early next month, and we can’t wait to see some of our other talented graduates recognized for their work outside the kitchen. We’re so proud to see these talented individuals, and their respective businesses, acknowledged for their hard work and dedication to their craft.

Some of the highlights from this year’s announcement include the recognition of Sarah Welch, Co Owner and Executive Chef of standout hot-spot, Marrow in Detroit and Peter Prime, Co Owner and Executive Chef of Prime in Washington D.C. One of this year’s Outstanding Restaurant Award nominees, Restaurant Alma in Minneapolis—owned by ICC alumnus, Chef Alex Roberts—is celebrating their 20th Anniversary this year!

Follow us throughout awards season for updates on the James Beard Foundation Media & Book Awards semifinalists, finalists and award winners!

The 2020 James Beard Award Winners will be announced May 4, 2020. The 2020 Media Awards will be held on April 24, 2020. For the full list of 2020 James Beard Award Semifinalists, click here.

While chart-topping music stars took home their Grammy’s in January, and Hollywood A-lister’s received their Oscar’s last month, award season is not over yet! Actually, it’s just heating up in the culinary world as the first nominee list to be released are the 2020 finalists for the IACP Cuisinart Awards. In 1978, a group of cooking school owners and instructors founded this prestigious association to bring together experiences, expertise, advice and support, in ways that lead to unparalleled growth and professional success.

The IACP Awards are among the most prestigious and coveted in the food industry. Below, check out the ICC alumni who made this year’s list!

Follow us throughout awards season for updates on more alumni nominees!

This year, ICC alumni and Dean David Kinch received a staggering 33 semifinalist nominations for the the 2019 James Beard Awards—known best as the “Oscars of the Food World”—recognizing their talent and dedication to their craft. Last night, while Hollywood A-listers flaunted fabulous fashions at the Met Gala, the who’s who of food & beverage gathered at the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the year’s most prestigious award ceremony in the culinary industry. The 3,500-seat theater full of hopefuls and their guests included 15 ICC alumni, plus our dean, waiting to hear if they’d win big this year. Alumni chefs and restaurant owners were not only present as finalists—Elena Besser, Professional Culinary Arts ’16, showed off her food media chops as one of the red carpet co-hosts for the foundation. Check out her coverage on the live feed, which garnered over 1.5 million views!

Steven Cook, co-owner of CookNSolo Restaurants, alongside his business partner Michael Solomonov, won the award for Outstanding Restaurant for the famed Zahav in Philadelphia. Cook, a graduate of our Culinary Arts program in 2000, was awarded ICC’s Outstanding Alumni Award for Excellence in Entrepreneurship last year for his achievement as one of the country’s most successful restaurateurs, overseeing a mini-empire in New York & Philadelphia.

Ashley Christensen, graduate of ICC’s Sous Vide Intensive program, took home the evenings top honors, receiving the award for Outstanding Chef. If you’re looking to amp up your Sous Vide skills just as Chef Christensen did in 2012, check out our revamped 2-day Sous Vide Intensive course here.

Other winners from last night’s celebrations included Kelly Jeun, Co-Executive Chef of Frasca Food and Wine in Colorado, which received the award for Outstanding Service. One of NYC’s hottest restaurants Atomix, where our Intensive Sommelier Training graduate—Jhonel Faelnar—is an integral part of the tight-knit team as Wine Director, received the award for Restaurant Design for 75 Seats and Under. Even before Monday’s awards ceremony, two ICC alumni went home as winners at the Media Awards on April 26th. David Chang received the award for Outstanding Reporting for his coverage of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, while Nick Fauchald,co-author of the book Cocktail Codex received the award for Book of the Year.

Congratulations to the 6 ICC alumni who were bestowed with a coveted James Beard Award this year! Read below for more information on our winners.

Each year, it brings us such joy to see our alumni and Deans of the International Culinary Center recognized for excellence in their field. With the recent announcement of the 2019 semifinalists for the James Beard Awards, we’d like to congratulate the following ICC alumni [and Dean!] on their nominations. This year, the number of ICC affiliates that made the short list was a staggering 26 semifinalists! We’re so proud to see these talents acknowledged for their hard work and dedication to their craft.

Some of the highlights from this year’s announcement include the recognition of newcomers like Zoe Kanan, Head Baker of Simon & the Whale for Outstanding Pastry Chef, and Rikki Giambruno, Owner & Executive Chef of Hyacinth for Rising Star Chef of the Year. Three of this year’s Best New Restaurant semifinalists are led by our graduates both in and out of the kitchen—David Chang (Chef/Owner of Majordomo in LA), Joshua Skenes (Chef/Owner of Angler in SF) and Jhonel Faelnar (Wine Director of Atomix in NYC).

Follow us throughout awards season for updates on the James Beard Foundation Media Awards semifinalists, finalists and award winners!

[UPDATE] With the announcement of the 2019 James Beard Award Book & Media nominees, ICC alumni and dean, David Kinch, have received a total of 34 nominations combined! Congratulations to the 15 alumni and our dean David Kinch who made it on the short list of finalists in their respective categories for a total of 20 finalist nominations! The winners will be announced later this spring, stay tuned.

The 2019 James Beard Award Winners will be announced May 6, 2019. The 2019 Media Awards will be held on April 26, 2019. For the full list of 2019 James Beard Award Semifinalists, click here.

Each year, we are always so proud to see alumni and Deans of the International Culinary Center recognized for excellence in their field. With the recent announcements from the James Beard Foundation, we’d like to congratulate the following ICC alumni [and Dean!] for being recognized in the list of 2018 James Beard Award Semifinalists!

Following last year’s ceremony, ICC Dean and Chef, David Kinch, is nominated again for Outstanding Chef! Philadelphia institution Zahav, co-owned by ICC alumnus Steven Cook, is also nominated again for Outstanding Service. To view all ICC alumni nominees [and winners!] from the 2017 Awards, click here.

[UPDATE] With the announcement of the 2018 James Beard Award Book & Media nominees, ICC alumni and deans have received 19 nominations combined! Congratulations to the seven alumni and our dean David Kinch who made it on the short list in their respective categories! The winners will be announced later this spring, stay tuned.

Each year the James Beard Foundation hosts the JBF Leadership Awards as part of the annual JBF Food Summit. The awards aim to shine a light on the importance and complexities of sustainability, food access, and public health.

This year the foundation celebrates ICC Alumnus, Chef Dan Barber, as one such visionary “for his work in blending the dining and educational experience to reduce waste, improve food taste and sustainability, and promote a soil-to-table approach.” Dan Barber, chef/owner of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, is best known for his innovations in the dining experience that promotes a more sustainable food world. But what many don’t know is that his collaboration with ICC’s Farm-to-Table extension of the Professional Culinary Arts program is actively training the next generation of chefs to cook responsibly. Through the program, Chef Dan Barber is challenging the chefs of tomorrow to make sustainable choices in their kitchens that create a healthier and safer food world.

Ready to join the conversation? Attend the two-day JBF Food Summit: Consuming Power October 23-24 in NYC. This year JBF is bringing together a diverse group of experts, including Chef Dan Barber, from across disciplines to look into the genesis and changing dynamics of consumer power and apply that knowledge to various food-system issues we’re facing today. Learn what Americans want from their food, the challenges and opportunities for a sustainable food system in our new political landscape, and the role chefs and other culinary leaders can play.

Maggie Huff’s desserts offer FT33 guests a taste of something subtly sweet, reflecting a hyper-seasonality that has been the benchmark of Chef Matt McCallister’s critically acclaimed restaurant in the Dallas Design District. She considers herself fortunate to be able to get her hands on superior products such as local honey from Texas Honey Bee Guild, Caprino Royale fresh goat cheese, and produce from the same farmers sourced by the savory side of the restaurant. To that point, she isn’t afraid to employ savory elements—herbs, spices, and vegetables, as well as forms of acid, fat, and salt—to enhance the sweet flavors on the plate.

Prior to FT33, Huff had the media swooning over her sophisticated desserts at Pyramid at the Fairmont Dallas. She originally met and worked with McCallister in the highly lauded kitchen of Stephan Pyles Restaurant. The Dallas native also had a stint in New York City, first attaining her culinary degree from the French Culinary Institute, then working the back of the house in several restaurants, doing both savory and pastry. Her love of food goes back even further: Huff has been baking since she was a kid, cultivating a curiosity in the kitchen while learning from her mother the importance of measuring ingredients.

Nomination: Outstanding Pastry Chef (FT33)

For more information on the 2017 James Beard Foundation Awards Semifinalists, click here.

After graduating the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, Chef Steven Cook completed the Professional Culinary Arts program at the French Culinary Institute in 2000. His education and drive combined make him one of the heavyweights in the Philadelphia scene of restaurateurs and culinary entrepreneurs.

In 2005, as chef-owner of Marigold Kitchen, Cook met his business partner Michael Solomonov. Together, they opened Zahav in 2008. The restaurant earned “4 bells” in its first year from Philadelphia Inquirer critic Craig La Ban. At Zahav, Cook and Solomonov served Israeli cuisine of salatim and mezze, and their collaboration also merged with the restaurant movement for small plates.

In 2012, Food & Wine recognized the pair as ‘Empire Builders’ for their restaurant group, CookNSolo. The empire now spans various cuisines and cites, and their first book Zahav: A World of Israel Cooking earned the James Beard Award for “Best International Cookbook” in 2016. In partnership with Broad Street Ministries, Cook also helped develop soon-to-launch, nonprofit Rooster Soup Company.

Nomination: Outstanding Service (Zahav)

For more information on the 2017 James Beard Foundation Awards Semifinalists, click here.

Greg Vernick was born into a family who knew a lot about genuine quality food. His mother ran the Haddonfield Diet Shop in New Jersey, and his grandfather ran their family Philadelphia’s butcher shop Friedman’s Market. A graduate of Boston University, he went straight into CIA’s Culinary Program and soon after, the French Culinary Institute’s Sous-Vide Intensive and Pastry Techniques program.

Vernick moved to New York City to work on the line for the opening of Jean-Georges Vongericten’s Perry Street, under Chef Gregory Brainin. Vernick rose through the ranks and served as sous chef at Jean Georges, Nougatine, and Spice Market and became their corporate chef trainer for restaurants in Qatar, Tokyo, Vancouver, Boston, and Park City, Utah. After five years in the Vongerichten empire, Vernick took his final post away from home as chef de cuisine of New York’s Tocqueville.

In 2012, Vernick returned to Philadelphia and he and his wife, Julie, opened the doors to their first restaurants, Vernick Food & Drink, and soon after he received a James Beard Nomination. He would then be nominated for the award, 2 more times in 2015 & 2016.

Nomination:Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic (Vernick Food & Drink)

For more information on the 2017 James Beard Foundation Awards Semifinalists, click here.

A recipient of the Best Chefs in America award for the Pacific region from the James Beard Foundation and awarded two Michelin stars for five consecutive years, David Kinch is creating a legacy in the advancement of California cuisine in the 21st century. At Manresa, his restaurant in Los Gatos, California, where he is executive chef and proprietor, his philosophy is fostered by the “sense of place” of the California Coast, and the kind of ingredient-driven cooking and modern technique he studied in France, Spain, Germany, Japan, and the United States.

In 2006, he formed an exclusive partnership with Cynthia Sandberg of Love Apple Farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which supplies Manresa with year-round provisions and vegetables grown using biodynamic practices. By producing sustainable vegetables, he is creating a closed circle among guests, the garden and his highly personal cuisine. Today, David Kinch is a Dean at the California campus of the International Culinary Center.

Nomination: Outstanding Restaurant (Manresa)

For more information on the 2017 James Beard Foundation Awards Semifinalists, click here.

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